“How much do you know about Ant? How his recovery is going.”
“It’s been uneven, from what I can gather.”
“That’s an interesting way to put it,” he says, grinning as he knots his hair at the base of his head. “Did they tell you he snuck onto a mission?”
“Yes.”
“Did they tell you he killed someone?”
I turn my head in disbelief. “Wait. What?”
Anders tilts his head, grimacing. “Somebody was going to kill Erik, and Ant got to them first. Though, he didn’t just kill the guy.”
“What did he do?” I ask as we take another couple of steps away from the group.
“He used a knife to kill him, right through the temple. Guy died instantly, but Ant pulled out the knife and went after the man’s face until he didn’t have one.”
I look at my nephew sweetly holding the young man’s hand, walking him into the house.
“Ant did that?”
“Yeah, he did. As someone who knows about these things, I can tell you he’s not going to stop there.”
“But I haven’t seen him act crazy.”
Anders shakes his head. “That’s not something he’s going to let people see easily. Someone was going after my cousin, who I’m sure you’ve already surmised he has feelings for.”
I nod in agreement.
“That list? You can’t be the one who takes out the people on that list.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, not quite believing my ears. “You thinkAntshould take out the people on the list?”
“Yes. He needs to be the one.”
What—and I cannot stress this enough—the fuck?
“There’s no way. I’m not letting him put himself in danger like that.”
“I don’t think you understand,” Anders says, patting my arm sympathetically. “He’s going to do this regardless. My cousin’s been looking into this list of his, hoping he can find some sort of overarching connection, something he can use so my team has to take over. If he does, we’ll take care of it. Unfortunately, the names Ant has are the end users. They aren’t the people who made the decisions. They are the clients. We’ve basically taken out the people responsible for the commerce, but that list contains the people who hurt him directly.”
“He’s in therapy though,” I say, trying to find reason in this. “Very good therapy, I hear.”
Anders nods. “Hedy is amazing, and I would not be surprised if he’s made some really great strides with her. Thing is, there’s a switch inside one’s head that makes killing very easy, and his is stuck in theonposition. What he does with that impulse…you won’t have any control over. I bet, however, that you can influence how he manages it.”
I’m still stunned by Anders’ revelation as we follow everyone inside. One look at Ant—who hasn’t left Elias’s side—tells me Anders is well-intentioned but clearly wrong. I’m sure he’s exaggerating about the way Ant killed that man, which he clearly only did to save the man he loves.
Levy heads off to the kitchen to make some food while Ant shows Elias a gaming app and hands him the phone. Elias begins playing while Ant points out a few things on the screen.
“Need help?” I ask Levy, feeling irritation bubble under my skin as I walk into the kitchen.
Levy pauses, tilting his head to the side. “Sure. I’m going to make some spaghetti. Mind making a salad?”
I shrug. “Sure.”
Levy shows me where everything is, and I get to work, trying to shake off everything Anders said.
It’s not going so well.
